Federal Cargo Company (FGC) has completed the first test of the innovative 8-axle hopper car model 12-5991 "Ural", developed by the Ural Design Bureau of Carriage Engineering as part of the Uralvagonzavod Concern. The tests took place at the "Sukhodol" port (Primorsky Krai), where coal unloading was carried out — the final stage of the route that began in St. Petersburg.
The hopper car set off on its journey immediately after its presentation at the international exhibition PRO//Motion.EXPO, demonstrating reliability during transportation throughout Russia.
On the first leg of the journey, the "Ural" transported cullet from St. Petersburg to Novosibirsk, and then coal to the port in the Far East.
The test results confirmed the model's readiness for integration into the national railway infrastructure. The design withstood extreme climatic conditions and full loading, corresponding to the stated characteristics.
The "Ural" hopper car has a number of key advantages: increased carrying capacity — thanks to the semi-rigid coupling, the inter-car distance is reduced, which allows increasing cargo flow by 22% without increasing the number of cars in the train; versatility of application — the car is adapted for the transportation of various bulk non-aggressive cargoes, from cullet to coal and ore; as well as record durability and reliability: the carrying capacity is 151 tons, the body volume is 176 m³, the axial load is 25 tf, the operating temperature range is from –60°C to +50°C, and the estimated service life reaches 32 years.
The "Ural" model was developed specifically for operation on main railways with a track gauge of 1520 mm and is aimed at increasing the efficiency of transportation within the framework of the national logistics strategy.